Shur (שׁוּר) has two main meanings depending on derivation: (1) to travel or journey (Job 34:8 — 'he travels in company with evildoers'); and (2) to look, gaze, or observe intently (Numbers 24:17 — Balaam 'sees' the star from Jacob). Many scholars see these as two separate roots. The 'gazing' sense is perhaps more common and theologically rich.
Balaam's oracle in Numbers 24:17 uses shur: 'I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near — a star shall come out of Jacob.' This is the great Messianic 'star prophecy,' and shur captures its character as visionary sight — gazing across time into a distant future. Job uses shur in his confidence about the resurrection: 'I myself will see him' (Job 19:27). This is the word for prophetic sight — the kind of seeing that peers beyond the immediate into what God is doing. It anticipates New Testament language of spiritual perception.